I'd still pay more (and always do) to not have those stupid markings. Why can't Pietta figure this out?

Willie - I think you're missing something here. Pietta has figured it out, and they don't care. And they keep selling them, hand over fist, frequently selling out. That should tell you that you're in the minority.

There's a whole lotta people out there who understand perfectly well that they aren't buying an authentic Colt black powder pistol, so the lettering on the barrel isn't an issue; they'd rather spend less money. They know they aren't going to fool anyone into thinking that they're shooting an authentic Colt so why get all worked up about a few letters stamped on the barrel? And apparently there's enough of them that Pietta manages to stay in business, in fact, more than just staying in business.